How to stage your home

Written by Engel & Völkers on 10/21/15

In a saturated market, home staging is an important way of making your property stand out. This umbrella term covers a number of activities aimed at presenting your home as appealingly as possible to a wide range of buyers. In other words, effective staging helps prospective buyers to picture themselves living in your property. This guide sets out some straightforward ways to maximise your home's potential and capture your viewers' imagination.

Focus on first impressions

A common mistake in home staging is to neglect your home's exterior while focusing on the interior. The façade is the first thing a viewer will see, so it's important to maximise your home's 'curb appeal'. Ensure that your front door is freshly painted, your lawn has been neatly mowed and that your windows are clean and sparkling. If you have flower beds or foliage in your front garden, hire a professional gardener to tend to them.

Rent external storage

Regardless of your personal aesthetic, for staging you'll need a minimalist set-up. This creates a blank canvas onto which potential buyers can project their own vision for the property. Clear out your cupboards, cabinets and wardrobes as much as possible, so that buyers who check the size of your storage space will have an unobstructed view. Carefully select which ornaments and paintings you wish to remain on display, clearing away all others for the duration of the selling process.

Clarify functionality

Once you've stripped back each room to the bare essentials, consider how best to present it as part of a fully-equipped property. A home office or gym may be better presented as a guest room, emphasising its versatility for families. You can rent extra furniture, such as beds and chairs, to clarify each room's function.

Emphasise space

Paint smaller areas, such as ante-rooms and sunrooms, the same shade as their adjoining rooms to open them up and lend the illusion of added space. When you have a bigger area to play with, set large pieces like sofas and dining tables away from the walls to accentuate the room's width.

Paint your walls

Neutral wall colours are more attractive to viewers, as they enable them to easily visualise adding their own character to the property. Choose plain tones such as stone, magnolia and fawn. For rooms with less natural light, select a more saturated hue to avoid shadows subduing your colour scheme.

Optimise your lighting

Keep every room in your home well lit so that even on overcast days, it will appear bright and welcoming. Aim for 100 watts of lighting per 50 square feet. Each room should have both ambient overhead lighting and specific task lighting, including reading and desk lamps. Use accent lighting to guide the viewer's eye towards the room's most notable features, such as presentational cabinets or framed artwork.

Almost four decades of experience in high-end real estate make Engel & Völkers the ideal choice when it comes to selling your home. Our expert agents will be delighted to help you throughout the process. Simply visit our website or one of our offices in 36 countries worldwide to find out more.